A quiet place to heal and reflect

OUR OPIATE PROBLEM

And I do mean OUR problem. Whether you are an addict, know one or don't, it effects us all in one way or another. From health care, to petty crime rates, to families torn apart and children left without parents. Why is it still taboo to talk about? Why do families that have lost loved ones to this ugly, non discriminative poison that has taken too many lives, young and old, still feel shame?

Ryan Trant.

1.13.93 -9.13.17

I attended a pancake breakfast this past weekend in his honor. I sat and observed, talked with guests and their sentiment was all the same. He was a great guy, son, father, brother... He had a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone. It was all a mask for his pain. Ryan left behind many that loved and supported him, it wasn't enough and that fatal dose changed so many lives.

Loved and missed so much like so many victims. Families afraid to acknowledge, let alone grieve, their losses do to drugs is still ongoing. Family and very close friends of Ryan thought the families of those lost to drug addiction needed a place of their own. To pray, heal, mend and morn.

The butterfly Garden at Our Lady of Fatima Shine in Holliston.

What a better way to find comfort then the shrine. Knowing their community suffered in silence, a choice was made. A choice to make a beautiful butterfly garden were people can go and reflect. This garden is special because it will be made up of bricks, special bricks with the names of those lost to this epidemic. Anyone can purchase a brick in remembrance of a lost loved one to addiction, make a monetary donation, or donate gardening supplies by calling the Shrine Office for information at 508.429.2144, Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00pm. They hope to break ground in early fall "

For information on Our Lady of Fatima Shrine, you can visit their website.

https://www.xaverianmissionari...

Images curtosy of Jess McGuire and Mikaela DeMaria